Corey Dickstein/Savannah Morning News Fort Stewart soldiers take part in a candlelight vigil Thursday at the installation's chapel to honor all fallen U.S. service members throughout the nation's history.

With her two young boys, Shanette Booker stood near the front of Fort Stewart’s chapel Thursday morning silently holding a lit candle.

Surrounded by dozens of others, who just like her have lost a beloved service member, Booker took solace in knowing they’ve survived experiences similar to what her family is going through, and that thousands more throughout the country understand the sacrifice her husband made almost two years ago.

Several Gold Star Families — who like the Bookers have lost a family member to conflict — joined dozens of Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield soldiers Thursday morning just ahead of Memorial Day to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

“This, for us, is a very big deal,” said Booker, whose husband Army Staff Sgt. Andre Booker died in August 2011 just after returning from a deployment to Afghanistan.

“It shows that the community still comes together to honor the fallen and that their memory isn’t just a memory, they’re still around, appreciated and their service is still honored.”

Although she attended the ceremony, held by the installation’s Survivor Outreach Services, last year, Booker did not bring her children, 10-year-old Delshawn and 9-year-old Dairrion because she didn’t think they were prepared.

This year, Booker said, she knew her boys fully understood the significance of Memorial Day.

“I asked if they know what Memorial Day is, and they both said this is the day that we honor all of the heroes that have died like Daddy,” she said. “Then my son made the comment that it’s not about parties. And I said, ‘No, it’s not about parties, and it’s not about time off; it’s about appreciating the freedom you have and appreciating those that gave that sacrifice for you to have those freedoms.’ I know they understand Memorial Day now.”

For those who have lost a loved one, Memorial Day and ceremonies like Thursday’s are helpful, even years after that loss, said Linda Lamie. Her son Sgt. Gene Lamie was killed in Iraq in July 2007.

“The knock on the door was just a moment ago,” Lamie said. “For everybody else it’s been almost seven years since Gene was killed.

“For us, on Memorial Day it’s just so good to know that we take the time to recognize those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. It warms your heart to know that everybody in the country knows that this day is to recognize your sacrifice, your child’s sacrifice.”

It’s important, too, to remember all of the survivors who’ve lost loved ones not only in recent years in Iraq or Afghanistan but also all the way back through the nation’s history, said Cheryl Sowell, a Survivor Outreach Services coordinator at Fort Stewart.

“A survivor is a survivor,” she said. “They don’t want to be survivors; they never wanted to become Gold Star parents or spouses — Gold Star Families — but it’s our responsibility to remember their sacrifice, support them and to let these families know that their loved ones’ deaths were not in vain.”